For those of you not up to date on Sino-Vatican relations, China hasn't held official talks with the Holy See since the 1950s. The communist country actually allows a state-sponsored version of the church to exist, but it has clashed repeatedly with the Vatican. Several of its bishops were even excommunicated after they were appointed without the Vatican's approval.

There are an estimated 12 million Catholics in China, but they are divided between the Chinese Patriotic Catholic Association, a group created by Communist Party in 1957 that does not recognize the Vatican as its head, and an underground, technically illegal, Catholic church that recognizes the Pope (and still has millions of members).

Visiting China in an official capacity would almost certainly require a meeting with the former, but Pope Francis would be unlikely to want to come without a promised meeting with the underground group as well, which would embarrass Beijing. [Quartz]

Despite the fact that a large number of Americans find abortion to be morally unacceptable, pro-abortion activists are determined to destigmatize the procedure.

Carafem, a new clinic in the Washington, D.C. area, has an unconventional approach to providing patients with the abortion pill. The whole clinic has a "spa-like" feel, The Washington Postreports, and patients are provided with warm teas and soft robes.

While Carafem may aim to create a soothing atmosphere, President Christopher Purdy is unapologetic about the clinic's actual purpose. "We don't want to talk in hushed tones," he said. "We use the A-word."

According to the Post, the pro-abortion campaign comes as the abortion rights movement is struggling politically in the face of anti-abortion activists' growing momentum. Activists hope that clinics like Carafem, coupled with "unapologetic" and "bold" attempts to put a human face to abortion, will help normalize the controversial procedure.

The secret to finding sewage in rivers could be at your local drugstore.

Researchers at the University of Sheffield in England are using tampons' absorbent properties to science's advantage. Their study, published in the Water and Environment Journal, found that tampons absorb "optical brighteners" found in common cleaning products, and the particles make the tampons glow under ultraviolet light. By dipping tampons into rivers, the researchers believe they can detect where sewage is seeping into the water stream from nearby households.

The scientists left tampons attached to rods in 16 surface water outlets in Sheffield. After a three-day period, nine of the tampons glowed under UV light. The researchers were then able to identify where the sewage leaks were.

"Sewage in rivers is very unpleasant, very widespread, and very difficult to track down," David Lerner, a University of Sheffield professor who led the study, told The Guardian. "Our new method may be unconventional, but it’s cheap and it works."

The researchers estimate that five percent of English homes have misconnected pipes that cause sewage leakage. Only 17 percent of England's rivers are in "good health," The Guardian notes. The scientists hope to use the "tampon tests" in larger trial areas to help stop sewage pollution.

Defense lawyers for accused Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev on Tuesday rested their case after attempting to convince jurors that while Tsarnaev participated in the attack, his brother was the mastermind.

The defense called just four witnesses while arguing that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, who died in a police chase following the attack, plotted the bombing that killed three and injured 260 more. Tsarnaev's lawyer's never denied their clients' guilt, saying in an opening statement, "It was him."

Declining circulation and plunging advertising revenue have plagued the tabloid for years, Reutersreports, and despite cable distributors facing industry problems of their own, Cablevision will reportedly still be able to make an offer on the New York Daily News with the whopping bid price of one dollar.

According to Reuters, Cablevision Systems Corp. could make the offer as early as this week. The paper's low value and Cablevision's insanely low bid take into account the News' $30 million annual loss and waning readership.

Officials from Lufthansa, Germanwings' parent company, revealed Tuesday that the company knew Andreas Lubitz suffered from depression. Lubitz apparently told the company about his condition in 2009, when he resumed his pilot training after a leave of absence.

Lufthansa also said that it had given prosecutors emails between Lubitz and the flight training school, which included medical records about a "deep depressive episode." The company said in a statement that it is revealing the information "in the interest of a swift and thorough clarification."

Lubitz, the co-pilot of the Germanwings jet that crashed into the French Alps last week, is believed to have intentionally crashed the plane, killing all 150 people on board. German prosecutors announced Monday that Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies, but Lufthansa said Tuesday that Lubitz had "passed all medical checks" after the episode, The Associated Press reports.

Opposition candidate Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday defeated President Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria's general election, marking the first democratic transfer of power since the end of military rule 16 years ago.

With most of the vote counted, Buhari had 15.4 million votes to 13.3 million for Jonathan, according to Reuters. Jonathan's Peoples Democratic Party has ruled Nigeria since 1999, but the rise of Boko Haram and surging inequality helped the 72-year-old Buhari, a former military leader, rise to victory in Africa's largest country.

"The people of Nigeria have taken over," Lai Mohammed, a spokesperson for Buhari's All Progressives Congress, said.

Russia and the U.S. may not be on the best terms, but suggesting nuclear weapon use on a national park seems a tad bit extreme.

Konstantin Sivkov, president of the Moscow-based Academy of Geopolitical Problems, wrote an article for Russia's VPK News on Wednesday, suggesting that Russia detonate nuclear weapons near Yellowstone National Park or the San Andreas fault line in the United States. Sivkov believes the nuclear weapons could trigger a super volcano, which would destroy the U.S.

Sivkov explained that he wants Russia to attack the U.S. because he believes NATO is gaining strength against Russia. And his ideal response to NATO is a "complete destruction of the enemy," a.k.a. the United States.

Last year, Sivkov told Russia's Pravda that "American politicians have committed a variety of crimes" for which they have yet to be punished. He also told Pravda that American politicians were responsible for 1,200,000 deaths in Iraq.

"Geologists believe that the Yellowstone super volcano could explode at any moment. There are signs of growing activity there. Therefore, it suffices to push the relatively small, for example, the impact of the munition megaton class to initiate an eruption," Sivkov wrote, according to a translation from The Sydney Morning Herald. "The consequences will be catastrophic for the United States — a country just disappears."

If a nuclear weapon were detonated near the San Andreas fault, Sivkov wrote, it could cause a tsunami powerful enough to "completely destroy the infrastructure of the United States." Sivkov believes that Russia's geographic features, meanwhile, would protect the country from the aftermath of a supervolcano explosion or a tsunami.